He shakes his head. “Oh, did big brother not tell you?”
“Tell me what?” I hate the sinking feeling in my belly.
“That he finally lost the one thing I want.” He takes a step closer to me, and his men start to draw closer on my sides.
“The jewel should more than pay for anything he owes you.”
His mouth curls into a wicked smile, and he reaches for the sharp dagger at his belt. “That’s a nice touch, but you’re what your brother offered me, and I’ll be damned if I lose you now, after all I did to win you.”
“You can’t win me.” I feel my claws growing longer. “I’m not an object, and my brother doesn’t own me.”
He flashes his weapon, and his gaze moves to his minions, but I keep moving backwards, keeping them from trapping me.
“Sorry, Tori, but this isn’t your choice.”
Suddenly, someone taps my shoulder. I whirl around, and a fist crashes into my face. I hit the earth behind me, and I can’t see. My head spins as someone grabs my arms.
I scream, even though my vision hasn’t returned. I slash out, hearing someone cry out. But more hands grab me as I struggle.
I’m hoisted to my feet, and someone holds my hands behind my back.
They’re all around me. There’s nowhere to go. I struggle harder, feeling trapped. Needing my hands free if I have any chance at escape.
One Eye suddenly presses his dagger to my throat, and I freeze.
He drags the tip up to the dark scattering of spots that run from my hair line, across one eye, and to my ear. They’re another sign that I was cursed by magic. And one of the many reasons I’m considered undesirable as a wife.
His blade cuts into one of the spots.
I clamp down to keep any sound of pain from leaving my lips.
“The men in this town might not want you as a wife, but I know a hell of a lot of them who want to fuck you. So, my men are going to take you back to your new room, and they’re going to teach you how to pleasure a man.”
I don’t think, I just act. My lips move, and I spit full into his face.
For one second he looks shocked, and then he pulls his fist back and hits me in the face. Hard.
I think I black out for a second. I can’t seem to draw my head up.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he whispers.
I’m sure I will. A small, panicked voice says in the back of my mind.
The earth suddenly pitches beneath my feet, and we’re nearly thrown to the ground. All the men turn as one, and my gaze goes a short distance down the road. A red dragon has landed. Smoke curls from his nose. And he looks pissed.
For the first time in my life, I’m glad there’s an angry dragon in my town.
The earth pitches again, and the blue-black dragon lands on the road on the other side of us.
My heart pounds.
The men don’t move.
Phoenix and Azure shift, transforming into naked men.
They start toward us. I don’t know what to do right now, because I imagine they aren’t happy with me.
One Eye moves away from me, heading toward Phoenix. He banishes his dagger in front of him, as if it could do anything against such powerful beings.
“Get out of here, dragon, or I’ll—“
“Every one of you will die for touching our female.”
A shadow falls over us, and suddenly, One Eye is plucked off the ground by Frost. He screams in the claws of the dragon for one moment before Frost pulls his body apart. I look away as he tosses the pieces of the man into the woods.
The men who hold me start to run. Azure and Phoenix move like lightning.
My pulse races as they pummel them with fists. The human men have no chance. There’s screams, some crying, and then the street grows strangely quiet.
Phoenix looks back at me. His fists covered in blood. He stands fully over the men, and the anger in his eyes is terrifying.
Without thinking, I turn and start to run. I make it through two alleys and out into a street before Frost’s claws close around me, and I’m lifted off the ground.
As I scream, all I can picture is One Eye being pulled apart. I know these dragons made promises. I know they said I was important. But they’re angry right now. Angry that I left. They killed a group of men just for being near me.
What will they do to me?
And then on the main path out of town, I see my brother riding a horse, a small bag thrown over his shoulder. His shoulders are curled forward as he rides like death is coming straight for him.
My heart aches. He left? He sold me, took the gems, and just rode away? I... I can’t believe it.
I feel a hot tear track down my cheek, but the wind whips it away. The only person I thought cared about me doesn’t, and now I’m being carried off by an angry dragon.
I’ve never felt this scared or alone in my life.
Chapter Three
AZURE
It is said that a water dragon’s emotions run deep. We are not like ice dragons, who can conceal their feelings from others. Instead, our emotions are like the water. Sometimes no one knows how hot we run until we are boiling over.
And yet, I have never been truly furious in my short life.
Until today. When my dragon ears picked up the sounds of the men threatening our female. Until I heard her heart racing. Until I saw them hurt her.
And then, I was lost to my fury.
If she were not so small and fragile, my revenge would have been fiery. Many, many humans would have died, not just the group who harmed her.
We fly back to the temple now. Frost holds her in his claw, and I’m glad for it. I should not touch her when I feel like this.
Phoenix fills the sky with fire. I have never seen him like this. The tops of many trees burn, and the sky has darkened with his smoke, and yet he is lost. Even Frost’s pleading voice cannot calm my brother.
I avoid him. I avoid Frost. I do not go directly to the temple. I soar far from them both, afraid of my anger. Afraid of what I will do.
I dive into the waters far from the temple and swim with the ocean beasts. I dive and move through the waves until my temper cools, and only then do I take to the skies once more and head toward the temple.
When I shift and leap into the window, I immediately spot the female.
To my surprise, the sight of her calms me in a way the waters failed to do so. I move to her and kneel down, touching the spot on her forehead that Frost has bandaged. I stroke around her bruised cheek and eye, while she watches me wearily.
“The men who hurt you are dead,” I reassure her slowly.
“I saw.” But instead of sounding relieved, she sounds terrified.
My gaze connects with Frost, and he shrugs, looking equally confused. We saved our female. We avenged her. Why doesn’t she seem happy?
Why does she smell of fear?
“You should bathe,” I tell her.
Because beneath the fear she also smells of the human men. It irritates me, but it will infuriate Phoenix.
She nods, then looks away from us as she rises and awkwardly starts to remove her clothes.
I look at her bandaged feet and curse.
Rising, I help her remove her pants and shirt, then sweep her into my arms and carry her into the pool of warm water. She says nothing. Nothing at all. She doesn’t even make a sound. Instead, she holds herself stiffly in my arms.
What is wrong?
“Are you hurting?”
She shakes her head.
I lean her back and gently wash her hair. She allows me to, but her gaze never leaves me.
At last I settle into the waters with her across my lap, and push her hair out of her face. Her silence. Her stillness. It worries me.
“We will never let anyone harm you again.”
Her eyes widen. She opens her mouth, but says nothing.
Again, I am perplexed.
Finally, I just let the words tumble out. “What can we do to prove w
e will never allow you to come to harm again?”
I see something change in her eyes. Cautiously, she pushes against my chest, and even though my entire heart aches, I let her go.
“The three of you killed all those men.”
“Yes, we did. They hurt you.” I stare at her for a moment. “Did you not wish us to?”
“No. Yes. Well, I don’t know.”
Frost steps into the room and sets a bag on the table in one corner. “She is afraid of us, Azure.”
I stand, shocked, and move toward her through the water.
She stumbles back.
My hands drop, and I look at her, really look at her. She is afraid, there’s no denying it. I just never imagined that she would fear us.
“We would never hurt you.”
“Okay,” she climbs out of the tub and dries herself on a blanket nearby.
“I secured a dress for you,” Frost says, and his voice sounds disinterested, but I detect the concern he so carefully hides. “It’s on the bed.”
A little crease comes between her brows, but she goes to the dress and pulls it on. It’s a little big, but otherwise fits her properly. And although I prefer her naked, she looks so beautiful that it takes me a minute to remember to step out of the tub and dry myself.
“Shall we sit down to eat?” Frost asks, pulling out a chair beside the table.
He’s set out a variety of things, probably from a quick trip to one of his nearby manors. There’s simple things like bread, cheese, and wine. And then there are the things he likely took from his kitchen, a pie, some roasted meat, and some other small dishes.
She walks stiffly on her injured feet to the table and sits down.
Frosts scoots her chair in and sits across from her.
It’s all very... strange. Why aren’t we discussing her fears? Why aren’t we comforting her?
I know that Frost understands humans in a way that Phoenix and I do not, but I think he may be wrong to simply dish out food onto her plate and take a meal with her as if nothing is wrong.
Dragging an empty chair out from the table, both of them look at me as I settle into my chair.
“Would you like—?”
I cut Frost off. “We need to discuss her feelings. She will be the mother to our young. She will be in our care for a long time to come. She cannot fear us.”
Tori meets my gaze for the first time since we returned. “I’m sorry if I need a little time to process what happened there.”
And even though sarcasm laces her words, I feel relieved to see some of her old spirit. “What did you expect us to do?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “Actually, in my head I planned to be back here before any of you noticed me missing.”
I huff. “I’m glad we found you when we did.”
She pales again, and I curse myself.
Frost takes a slow bite of a piece of bread. “Speaking of which, why did those men hurt you?”
She uses her fork to poke at the meat on her plate. “My brother owed them money. And... I guess, offered me in exchange for his debt.”
Again, that feeling comes over me. A blinding rage. Smoke puffs from my nose, and I rise. “Your own flesh and blood sold you to pay his debt?”
She looks up at me, curiously. “Yes.”
My fists ache to pummel the walls. No, to pummel her brother’s face. “That man was entrusted with your care. He should have died before allowing harm to come to you.”
“Why?” she asks, and the sweetness of her question calms my anger.
“Because you deserve better.”
I cannot look away from her deep brown eyes, because nothing is concealed from me in that moment. She’s surprised by my response. Truly, deeply, amazed.
Is it possible this female doesn’t realize how special she is? How beautiful? How brave?
“You must be careful for now on, Tori. If anything were to happen to you... we would lose our minds.”
“Because of the fertility egg,” she says, still holding my gaze.
“Yes, because of the fertility egg. We are the last of our kind, and we have yet to successfully impregnate a single human female. It is difficult among dragons. It is even harder between humans and dragons. But you are our best chance at that. Perhaps our only chance.” I move closer and kneel down before her, taking her hands. “You are the single most important thing to us.”
I sense that perhaps I haven’t said the right things, but her expression gentles, and she leans forward to plant a light kiss on my lips.
Only, she has made me feel too much. From the moment I first saw her, it was like being struck by lightning. Everything within me has changed, and now her gentle kiss unleashes something unexpected within me. Emotions. Gratitude for her. Relief that she was returned safely to us. And a hunger to take her again. To claim her as my own.
Leaning up, I grasp the back of her head and pull her to me, deepening the kiss. For a second she doesn’t respond, and then she’s sliding into my lap, her hands wrapping around my neck. We kiss as if there is nothing more important in this world. Because there isn’t. Her smooth tongue slides across mine, and her every tiny movement and sound has my cock aching with need.
Her ass is firm beneath the material of her dress, grinding against my erection in a way that the dragon within me can’t tolerate.
I break our kiss, grasp her dress, and yank it up and over her head.
She makes a small, surprised sound as I stand, wrapping her legs around my waist. Her hands brace on my shoulders, and my tip rubs against her entrance.
Every muscle in my body tightens as I realize just how wet she is. I inhale deeply the scent of her arousal, and command myself to hold back. But my self-control slips as she presses her beautiful breasts against my chest and her mouth rubs against my neck.
Shifting her so that she’s rubbing gently against my tip, exploring the folds of her body, I let her lick and suck the sensitive skin of my neck. There is something incredible about the way she touches me, as if she wants me as badly as I want her.
I see movement out of the corner of my eye. Frost stands and moves behind her, pressing himself against her.
She lifts her mouth from my neck and looks back at him. Immediately, his mouth locks with hers, and his hands come around to cover her breasts. We are going to take this woman now, and we are going to mate her. I’m going to fill her with my seed, and then I will watch as she swells with my child, growing more beautiful each day.
My balls tighten, and I shudder.
This human woman... she will be mine. Not just for this moment. Not just for when she carries my child. But forever. I demand it.
Chapter Four
TORI
I don’t understand. One minute I was panicking, trying to figure out a way out of my deal with these dragons, and the next I’m aching for them inside of me. I feel Azure’s hard erection rubbing my sensitive folds with each breath I take, and Frost behind me with his incredible dick, rubbing my ass to make his intentions known.
And I’m not the least bit scared.
I’ve taken a man from behind before. I know how good it can feel. And as frightening as it should be to think about the size of these two, and how they’ll both fit into me, my body is screaming for it.
Frost grasps my breasts from behind in a possessive manner that tells me, more than any words, that he sees me as his. And again, I like everything about it. His fingers move to pinch my hard nubs, sending twinges of pleasure sparking through my body.
I move my hips, rubbing against both their cocks.
Azure swears, and his cock begins to slide into my channel. My nails dig into his shoulder, but I let him move inch by inch further inside of me until he’s filling every damn inch of me. The feeling is... incredible.
And then, Frost spreads me from behind.
I clench my teeth to keep from protesting. He slides for a moment in the slickness created from Azure’s touching, then moves to my empty entrance. More care
fully than I ever imagined a big shifter could be, he enters me from behind.
It’s overwhelming. Too damn much. I start to speak, words that make no sense as I rock against them. It takes no time at all for them to start shifting inside of me, even as Frost continues deeper.
His grip on my breasts tightens. His playful fingers growing more possessive.
Within moments, we’re all moving together. A rhythm like the most sensual of songs. Their breathing fills my ears. My heartbeat thumps loudly in my chest.
These shifters are amazing. Incredible. Their every touch a gift from the Gods.
I start to chant, “yes, yes, yes!” And I can’t seem to stop.
A growl tears from one of their throats. And then, they are slamming into me with a strength and quickness no man could replicate. I’m going crazy. Raised to a height of ecstasy that leaves my thoughts spinning, and my head light. I’m going to explode... to break into a thousand pieces.
I’m... I’m coming.
My head throws back. My grip tightens. And I’m riding them both, screaming and screaming as my inner muscles clench them in a vise of pleasure. Both shifters come at once, their seed hot and filling every inch of me. The slickness warms my channels, sparking another orgasm that takes me entirely by surprise.
It takes several minutes before I collapse between them. And another moment before Frost pulls out of me from behind. Without speaking, I’m taken back to the pool of water. They wash me, dry me, and then lay me on the bed.
I want to say so many things. I want to remain awake. But instead, sleep pulls me under, and I’m lost.
Chapter Five
PHOENIX
I do not return to our home within the temple. Instead, I pace the base of the building, my thoughts a fiery mess. Even when I hear my brothers making love to the human, I continue to pace. Yes, my cock strains. And yes, when I hear the sounds of her orgasm, I grip my erection and stroke until I explode, but I do not return to them.
Her escape has angered me in a way I can’t explain.
Killing the humans who hurt her is not enough to soothe the fire that burns within me.
Nothing can stop it.
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